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Unnamed Fictional Heads of State and Government
This page lists all fictional heads of state and/or government who appear in the works of Harry Turtledove, but whose role is relegated to a few sentences, and whose names are never revealed. Most of these characters appear in works set in the future. ''The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump King and Prime Minister of the Confederated Provinces The Confederated Provinces is an analog of the United States, but is a constitutional monarchy, rather than a republic, with a king and a prime minister. Both are mentioned in passing. The king is described as a figurehead, and the prime minister is described as having the real power. Emperor of Aztecia Aztecia is an analog of Mexico, but is an empire, and implicitly, an absolutist one, rather than a republic. Towards the end of the novel, the reigning emperor has his entire cabinet put to death. Curious Notions 'The Emperor of Austria-Hungary Mentioned in passing; presumably in power as a consequence of his country's alliance with Germany. Curious Notions, pg. 43. '''The Emperor of Brazil Mentioned in passing; presumably, the German Empire restored this monarchy which had been overthrown in 1889.Ibid. 'The Emperor of China' Mentioned as being the focal point of a plot to challenge the German Empire by setting up a Chinese one to rival it. Ibid., pg. 185. 'The King of England' Mentioned in passing, it's unclear if he rules England or the United Kingdom.Ibid., pg. 43. 'The Kaiser of the German Empire' In the late 21st Century, this unnamed Kaiser is the de facto ruler of most of the world. 'The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire' Mentioned in passing; presumably still in power as a consequence of his country's alliance with Germany.Ibid. pg. 43. 'The King of Portugal' Mentioned in passing; presumably, the German Empire restored this monarchy which had been overthrown in 1910, four years before the break-point.Ibid. Darkness 'The King of West Algarve' An unnamed Algarvian nobleman agreed to serve as King of West Algarve, a position with limited real power; he was in fact a puppet of western Algarve's Unkerlanter conquerors. At least two Algarvian nobles, including Sabrino, had refused to take the office before Unkerlanter officials found a collaborator pliable enough to accept the crown on Unkerlanter terms.Out of the Darkness p 490 ''The Disunited States of America 'The Prime Minister of California Mentioned in passing. The Disunited States of America, pg. 41. Ohio's Leader' Possibly a consul; despite a war between Ohio and Virginia, we never learn his or her name. 'Prime Minister of Iran In the home timeline, this person is the target of an assassination attempt.Ibid., pg. 278. '''Shah of Iran Mentioned in passing as ruling Iran of the home timeline.Ibid. ''The Gladiator 'The General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Italian People's Republic Mentioned several times throughout the novel. ''In High Places'' The Pope and the King of France In 1381, toward the end of the decades-long outbreak of the Great Black Deaths which devastated northern Europe, the Pope and the King of France ordered the death on the wheel of a heretical cult leader named Henri. The day after Henri's death, these two heads of state, while relishing in their triumph, were killed in a freak accident involving the structural collapse of a church in which they were praying. Other important higher-ups were killed in the same disaster.In High Places, pg. 15. ''In the Presence of Mine Enemies 'The Perón of Argentina In 2010, the Perón described Kurt Haldweim a model for all rulers aspiring to greatness. In the Presence of Mine Enemies, pg. 73. 'The King of Bulgaria' In 2010, the King of Bulgaria visits the Poglavnik of Croatia on an official state visit. Video footage of the two men embracing is shown on the Seven O'clock News. Ibid., pg. 51. 'The Poglavnik of Croatia' See main article for information on his role in the story. 'The Premier of France' Joined with other critics of the 2011 Putsch "in principle".Ibid., pg. 422. 'Duce of the Italian Empire' This unnamed person wielded the actual power in Italy.Ibid., pg. 107. He expressed his condolences upon the death of Kurt Haldweim, calling him a man of power and of peace. Ibid., pg. 51. He was initially supportive of Heinz Buckliger. Ibid., pg. 225. 'Emperor of Japan' The Emperor of Japan expresses sympathy for the German people upon the death of Kurt Haldweim,Ibid., pg. 72. as does the Emperor of Manchukuo. This person could be the historical Akihito, but Turtledove does not provide enough information. 'Caudillo of Spain' The Caudillo of Spain described Kurt Haldweim as a man of world-historical proportions.Ibid. 71. "Someone Is Stealing the Great Throne Rooms of the Galaxy" 'The Galactic Emperor and Empress' Mentioned in passing, with the implication that they are absolute monarchs. There is the further implication from the text that they are not as popular as they might like to be, but that it is not safe to express disapproval of their government.Adams, John Joseph, editor. Federations. 2009: Prime Books. p 95. Southern Victory 'The Emperor of Mexico during the Great War' The name of the Emperor who ruled Mexico during the Great War is never given. It is known that Mexico was ruled by the Hapsburgs at the time.Walk in Hell p 304 In other parts of the series, we learn that Maximilian I and Maximilian II were emperors sometime before the Great War, and that Maximilian III and Francisco José II ruled after it. Therefore, the moderators have taken a calculated leap of faith in referring to him by the logical name Francisco José I elsewhere in this wiki. 'The Premier of Quebec' No leader of the Republic of Quebec is ever identified by name. In The Center Cannot Hold, '' one unnamed Quebecois leader is briefly seen at the funeral of Theodore Roosevelt. It is from this scene that we know that the title of the highest official in the Quebecois government is Premier.The Center Cannot Hold'' p 37. Supervolcano 'The Prime Minister of Israel' The Prime Minister is a man. He delivers a speech promising an eye for an eye after Iran apparently launches a nuclear attack on Tel Aviv. This results in a nuclear counter-strike on Tehran and the Iranian holy city of QomEruption, pg. 325-326. 'The President of the United States' Aside from the fact that the President is a man and a Democrat in Eruption, he is not named or described.Ibid., e.g. pg. 54. 'The Vice President of the United States' An unnamed Vice President appears in All Fall Down as the commencement speaker at Marshall Ferguson's graduation. This person shares a few characteristics with the contemporary Vice President, Joe Biden.All Fall Down, pgs. 12-14, HC. "Trantor Falls" 'Gilmer's Rival' No sooner has Gilmer returned from his negotiations with Yokim Sarns than he learns that a rival warlord is gathering a fleet of warships within ten parsecs of Trantor in preparation for an attack on the planet. While formal legal claims of sovereignty made by warlords such as Gilmer and his rival would certainly be dubious, the state of affairs in the inner galaxy at the time of the story does appear to suggest that such warlords are the highest political authorities in the region.Greenberg, Martin ed. Foundation's Friends: Stories in Honor of Isaac Asimov. New York: Tor, 1989. p 91. ''The Two Georges 'The Emperor of Austria The Austrian Empire is said to be ruled by the House of Hapsburg. Its head of state is presumably the Emperor, but not even the barest description of this person is given. '''The Tsar of Russia The reigning Tsar of Russia is referenced throughout the novel, but never named. Nor is it mentioned whether the House of Romanov still rules, although this is likely. For much of the work, it appears Russia is the mastermind behind the theft of The Two Georges. 'The Prime Minister of Britain' The Prime Minister of Britain is referenced once after the The Two Georges painting is stolen. While the PM is identified as female, no other details are given, and she does not play a direct role in the novel outside a brief radio broadcast. A popular fan theory identifies her as Margaret Thatcher but is purely speculative. Videssos Series 'Maleinos II's Predecessors' It is mentioned a number of times by various characters that Rhavas's grandmother was Maleinos II's grandfather's sister and that the grandfather was an usurper the way Stylianos was. Neither the grandfather nor the Avtokrator he overthrew or his son who presumably was Maleinos II's immediate predecessor were named. While it is likely that either his father or grandfather were named Maleinos, it is possible he was named after a previous Avtokrator that one, the other, or both admired. Therefore, we have one, two or even three unnamed Avtokrators immediately preceding Maleinos II. 'King(s) of Kings of Makuran' Throughout the trilogy of books detailing the ascension and emperorship of Krispos, the King of Kings of Makuran has offstage involvement in various plot points. It is not known whether one King of Kings ruled Makuran throughout the period of time covered by the trilogy, or whether there were different kings at different points in the story. No names are ever provided in any of the relevant scenes. Krispos Rising, Krispos of Videssos, Krispos the Emperor (throughout) "Vilcabamba" 'The President of Peru' One of the leaders of the few remaining free countries at the time of the story, El Presidente presides over a rump state located around the Andes Mountains. United States President Harris Moffatt III spoke to El Presidente by phone on occasion. Worldwar 'Risson's predecessor as the Emperor of the Race' The Emperor who ruled the Race in the early 1920s, and who formally ordered Atvar to conquer Tosev 3, is mentioned in Homeward Bound, but not by name. It is said that he was more interested in form and ceremony than in the substance of policy, a marked difference from the incumbent at the time of the novel, the 37th Emperor Risson. This emperor is referred to as "His Majesty's predecessor" and is implied, though not explicitly stated, to have been Risson's immediate predecessor.Homeward Bound p 231 et al The Conquest Fleet celebrated this emperor's hatching day as a holiday during their war against Tosev 3. Due to the difference in the amounts of time it took Earth and Home to complete orbits of their respective suns, this holiday would occur twice in one Tosevite year, to the confusion of many human observers such as Liu Han and Nieh Ho-Ting.Upsetting the Balance pp 482, 488. References Category:Trivia Category:Heads of Government Category:Heads of State